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Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

notesfrompoland.com

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Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#31

Post by nix23 »

hirundo wrote: post #13
avindroth wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

also this war of mine isn’t an ‘educational’ game (you would know if you actually read the article)

It is educational in the sense that literature is, putting yourself in someone else's shoes. That's what the humanities do at their best. IMHO it's an excellent example of a novelistic game for just that reason.

I did that with Leisure Suit Larry....never worked very well :(

But this game (War of mine) is fantastic!!!

EDIT: Well one time it worked, but that was in florida, so i don't count that.

Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#33

Post by billfruit »

Imlus wrote: post #23
mamon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the GP, but I think that there are many such titles, that's why schools in Poland have mandatory reading lists :) You cannot understand culture and tradition without reading some classics,starting with Bible, Homer's Illiad, or Shakespeare. And of course in Poland we mostly focus on Polish writers. You know, before journalism was invented novels served pretty much the same purpose as newspaper reports - there are…

I mean, reading / playing witcher you'd get better morale / class diversification understanding than reading Bible or Illiad, Shakespeare is definetely not for school readings, if you're not interested in the actual literature that book has no value in your life. I, personally, love reading books. But forcing that material to 12-18 and saying read these classic ones just pushes back youth from reading at all. You eit…

Poland has a good literary heritage, which was partly responsible for the coalescing of Poland as a nation. So I suppose many of books and authors from that tradition could be essential reading for Polish young people..

I am not from Poland myself. Perhaps Henrik Sienkiewicz is one of those authors..

Perhaps they should prescribe the Witcher novels too.

Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#34

Post by caymanjim »

zaksoup wrote: post #26
mamon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the GP, but I think that there are many such titles, that's why schools in Poland have mandatory reading lists :) You cannot understand culture and tradition without reading some classics,starting with Bible, Homer's Illiad, or Shakespeare. And of course in Poland we mostly focus on Polish writers. You know, before journalism was invented novels served pretty much the same purpose as newspaper reports - there are…

Not to start a flame war over book choice but forcing kids to read the Bible, Homer's Iliad, and Shakespeare are probably what is causing such marked disinterest in the first place. There are so many interesting and valuable works of writing, fiction and non-fiction, that can captivate and entertain modern children that aren't unapproachable tomes translated from ancient, dead languages, or written in Iambic Pentamet…

Where and when did you go to school such that you were given a Bible to read? I started school in the US in the 1970s and never saw or heard anything more religious than the Pledge of Allegiance or a Christmas decoration.

Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#36

Post by q3k »

ceceron wrote: post #10

Interesting move. Sadly kids nowadays (at least in Poland, where I live) don't like reading books and tend to skip even very important titles. This may be a good way to bring some interest in the history via a genuinely entertaining medium.

> don't like reading books and tend to skip even very important titles

That's because the list of mandatory [1] reading in Poland is 90% haphazardly thrown together nationalistic martyrdom bullshit with terrible state-mandated interpretation.

I used to _hate_ literary analysis, partly because of the works we were studying and how we were forced to interpret them. Then, years after leaving school I've discovered that this can actually be interesting and intellectually stimulating, especially if you care for the work, and doubly so if you're actually explained the point of this sort of analysis in the first place. Every single peer of around my age that has gone through the same system has had the exact same experience, regardless of school or district.

[1] - as I've experienced it 10 years ago

Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#37

Post by ceceron »

Krasnol wrote: post #30
ceceron wrote: post #10

Interesting move. Sadly kids nowadays (at least in Poland, where I live) don't like reading books and tend to skip even very important titles. This may be a good way to bring some interest in the history via a genuinely entertaining medium.

I was recently in Poland again and wanted to buy some books for my father who lives in Germany. Man...they are expansive! What happened there?? No wonder there are so many illegal sources for epubs.

I agree that electronic books are strangely expensive compared to the printed editions. As for the book market, it's in a terrible state given decreasing interest in reading. Second biggest bookshop brand went bankrupt not so long ago and nobody has been able to fill the void. Luckily, there are many small and great bookshops out there. I highly recommend Kurant (music-related) or Revolutionibus (more general) in Krakow ;)

Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#39

Post by q3k »

caymanjim wrote: post #34
zaksoup wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to start a flame war over book choice but forcing kids to read the Bible, Homer's Iliad, and Shakespeare are probably what is causing such marked disinterest in the first place. There are so many interesting and valuable works of writing, fiction and non-fiction, that can captivate and entertain modern children that aren't unapproachable tomes translated from ancient, dead languages, or written in Iambic Pentamet…

Where and when did you go to school such that you were given a Bible to read? I started school in the US in the 1970s and never saw or heard anything more religious than the Pledge of Allegiance or a Christmas decoration.

Poland has mandatory Bible reading/analysis at primary school level (4th-6th grade). [1]

[1] - “Biblia: stworzenie świata i człowieka oraz wybrane przypowieści ewangeliczne, w tym o siewcy, o talentach, o pannach roztropnych, o miłosiernym Samarytaninie” ( https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU2017000035... )

Re: Poland puts computer game “This War of Mine” on school reading list

#40

Post by throwaway894345 »

Imlus wrote: post #23
mamon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the GP, but I think that there are many such titles, that's why schools in Poland have mandatory reading lists :) You cannot understand culture and tradition without reading some classics,starting with Bible, Homer's Illiad, or Shakespeare. And of course in Poland we mostly focus on Polish writers. You know, before journalism was invented novels served pretty much the same purpose as newspaper reports - there are…

I mean, reading / playing witcher you'd get better morale / class diversification understanding than reading Bible or Illiad, Shakespeare is definetely not for school readings, if you're not interested in the actual literature that book has no value in your life. I, personally, love reading books. But forcing that material to 12-18 and saying read these classic ones just pushes back youth from reading at all. You eit…

> morale / class diversification

What does this mean, exactly? And why is it valuable?

> You either move forward and adapt with the current generation or you try to force old generation habits and slowly curse on the result

The classics are thousands of years old and have served as popular educational material for centuries. Why is Gen-Z categorically different from all of the generations that have come before such that we should change? I'm not sure that Gen-Z is even different with respect to their ability to understand or appreciate the classics, and to the extent that they are, I suspect that's because (at least in the US) we've changed how we teach, de-emphasizing things like civics (probably in favor of an increasingly identitarian curriculum). Note that this isn't a defense of the classics--for example, this wouldn't rebut the idea that classics are overrated--it only challenges the specific idea that something abruptly changed such that the classics are obsolete.

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